


Logbook

by Imaed



Series: Black Sails Company [3]
Category: Black Sails
Genre: + extras, All the chapters I could have wrote, Gen, Not a fic, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 16:54:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24200152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imaed/pseuds/Imaed
Summary: I little extra - since I'm doing a lot of rework and appendix with BSC I decided to make an extra serie about what will disappear in the doom of my personal archive.
Relationships: Captain Flint | James McGraw/Thomas Hamilton/John Silver
Series: Black Sails Company [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692313
Kudos: 4





	1. The 2nd serie playlist of titles

Hell yeah, let's start with an easy one. This is my playlist (because I can't find title even if my life is in danger)  
I've been having so much fun making sense of it.  
Also with a little twist since I will update this one chapter earlier ;)

Chapter 1: Always something happening and nothing going on (Nobody told me there'd be days like these) John Lennon - Nobody told me

Chapter 2: Love me tender, love me sweet (Never let me go) Elvis Presley - Love me tender

Chapter 3: Seems you're the only one who knows (What it's like to be me) The Rembrandts - I'll be there for you

Chapter 4: You ain't never had a friend like me Friend like me - Robin Williams (except i'm partial to Ne-yo's version soooo good)

Chapter 5: At last (my love has come along) At last - Etta James

Chapter 6: The bridges I have crossed since you've been next to me (You showed me there's a life worth fighting for) The Score - Where do you run

Chapter 7: You're movin' without movin' (And when you move, I'm moved) Hozier - Movement

Chapter 8: And I won't put my hands up and surrender (There will be no white flag above my door) Bishop Briggs - White Flag

Chapter 9: Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid (And I'm still standing after all this time) Elton John - I'm still standing (yeah yeah yeah)

Chapter 10: Paint your smile on your lips (Blood red nails on your fingertips) Bon Jovi - You give love a bad name

Chapter 11: Who can stop me tonight (I'm hard wired) Skillet - Feel Invincible

Chapter 12: I am a man at war (And I am fighting for All of the broken people) Papa Roach - Born for greatness

Chapter 13: I’m about to lose control ( and I think I like it) The Pointer Sisters - I'm so excited

Chapter 14: Well you see her when you fall asleep (But never to touch and never to keep) The Passengers - Let her go

Chapter 15: Nobody sails to the middle of the ocean (and calls it home) Halfway - James Blunt

Chapter 16: Were you ever a dreamer? (Ever imagine heart open and free) Vox Populi - Thirty seconds to mars

Chapter 17 : And the sun can't stop us now (Watchin' it come true, it's takin' over you) The greatest show - The greatest showman

Chapter 18 : Oh, if the sky comes falling down For you (there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do) Hey, Brother - Avicii

Chapter 19 : Oh no, I can't slow down, I can't hold back (Though you know, I wish I could) Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked Cage The Elephant

Chapter 20 : Do you walk in the valley of kings? (Do you walk in the shadow of men) Glitter & Gold - Barns Courtney

Chapter 21 : He’s somewhere between (A hangman’s knot and three mouth to feed) Devil’s blackbone – The civil wars

Chapter 22: So you feel entitled to a sense of control (And make decisions that you think are your own) Who are you, Really? – Mikky Ekko

Chapter 23: A voice that says, "I'll be here" (And "you'll be alright") City of stars - Gavin James

Chapter 24: And then I looked up at the sun and I could see (Oh the way that gravity pulls on you and me) Gravity - Colplay

Chapter 25 : I came here to get some peace (Way down deep where the shadows are heavy ) Remains - Bastille, Rag’n’Bone Man, Skunk Anansie 

Chapter 26 : Everyone says I'm getting down too low (Everyone says "You just got to let it go") Need some sleep - Eels


	2. Chapter 11 but different?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the what if of It is good to be home (I don't know what home is)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11 was supposed to be on Thomas POV, right after their little stroll in Nassau they were supposed to go back to the mansion and hear the conversation with Jennings.
> 
> By the way, Jennings came to some spectacular transformation: taller than the tallest man on the island, built like a bull, no scars... Finally I chose to give him a more slender body but a big scar. 
> 
> You might notice part of the dialogue reused but it is going in a very different way ! (Another version had them fight against Jennings because he suggest they send Thomas as a whore).
> 
> It's more a continuation of chapter 9 actually.

They walk by the Inn and the tavern; they are breaming with customers. A black woman supervises the distribution of plates full of rice, beans and plantain bananas. It smells the strong spices, it makes him nauseous. 

“Max and Idelle are serving breakfast to anyone who asks, as a compensation for labour” explains James, pointing at the woman.

“One would think an island full of pirates would be chock full of gold and finery” comments Thomas. 

Most of the men are unkempt, clothed like Navy’s seamen would be with simple trousers and shirts. Some are more colourful than others but it looks mostly accidental: they sew two or more pieces of fabric together and called it a garment.

“The last hunt was months ago and pirates are quick spender.”

“Where does the food come from then?” asks Thomas.

“It’s from Max’s warehouse; Silver and she decided it would be more profitable to provide it for free than let the crews grow unhappy.”

“How do the farmers lives if they do not sell their goods?”

“For now, they are happy enough to cultivate crop on their own land. It barely produces enough for their own consumption. When they have excesses, Silver will find a solution.”

“You put a lot of faith in him.”

“Does it surprise you?” asks James climbing the few stairs to the Mansion.

“I suppose it shouldn’t” muses Thomas. It doesn’t seem fair to let Long John Silver bear all the weight of their fate. (If he focuses enough he could recall the load, but there was a lot less souls looking up for him.)

They are rudely interrupts by the shouts. James face contorts; it’s darker, harder, unlike Thomas as ever seen on him.

“Stay here” he commands, even his tone is more imperious, more commanding. 

Thomas wants to obey but the curiosity is stronger than the fear. He follows James toward the office and hears him ask in a glacial tone what’s going on. 

Long John Silver is sitting at his desk with the rude man who found James and him in the kitchen (Jack something) at his side. Another, stronger, taller man is facing them, obviously unhappy with the situation. (He is twice Thomas size, he looks closer to a bull than a man: tanned face, black short hair in disarray, small eyes with a mean streak.)

“You!” he shouts when he sees James. “How could you let this happen?”

“Jennings” greets James with his jaw clamped. He is suddenly very tense, straightens his back to look bigger (there is no trace of the gentle man who escorted him to the market). 

Jack looks very unhappy by their arrival; Long John Silver is a mask of impassivity. (Long John Silver won’t cast a glance in his direction; from the moment they cross the threshold, his focus never wavered from James.) (Thomas wishes he hadn’t come, it is too late to back down now.) 

“It’s bad enough you stopped all the hunts in the Bahamas now you let this… invalid creature free one hundred and fifty slaves while we could have sell them for good money!”

“Careful” warns James. “Last man who called him an invalid lost more than a few coins.”

“Flint” It’s subtle how Long John Silver holds on James temper with a single word. It seems to satisfy a deep and cruel feeling in Jennings. He turns his back fully on James, dismissing him obviously. Thomas wants to touch James, both to help him calms down and to ease his own fears. 

“I work my men hard for these goods” says the designated Jennings. “I will not impart with a coin, not to your fraudulent government nor to the lazy asses whom inhabit this island.” 

“All the other Captains agreed” begins Jack. 

“I don’t care about the brown noser” snarls Jennings. “You and your redhead bitch can go fuck yourself.”

It’s too fast for Thomas to realise what happens until it is over. Jack is holding his head and Long John Silver is hovering above Jennings broken nose, is hand bloody and his own temper aflame. How did he leap over the desk so quickly Thomas has no idea. James is still, but his smile is just this side of feral.

“If you were smart, you would leave” states Jack.

The man growls and turns his back on them, storming out of the office.

“So much for not antagonising him” complains Jack. 

They all take a moment to gather their thoughts.

“Who is he?” asks Thomas after the long silence. James turns around, quick as a whip and looks horrified for a minute. (The whole threatening persona forgotten.) Then he fusses over Thomas like he is about to swoon. It would be charming if it wasn’t so annoying (most of all because Thomas needs the reassurance and knows in his core it’s not the right moment).

“After the people in this room, the most significant Captain of Nassau.” says Jack Rackham pointedly at Long John Silver.

“Henry Jennings” grumbles James, he plasters himself against Thomas back. He is like a furnace to Thomas sense, a furnace and a balm. Thomas subtly lets him support a bit of his weight. 

“Yes, and he brought back three hundred men with him to wait the worst of the Hurricane season to pass. The aim of this meeting was to keep him on our good side” answers Jack Rackham very diplomatically. 

Long John Silver shrugs, not put out by the nagging. (He still hasn’t look toward Thomas, it draw the small memory of his pride out of its shell.)

“What does he want?” asks Thomas, trying to distract from the hard and anxious coil in his belly. 

Jack sighs, but he sits, ready to explain. 

“We have requisitioned all the riches of the Captains so it can be distributed fairly among the island. Our resources are strained and we don’t have a source of income yet. When Jennings returned we asked him the same courtesy. He was less than happy to comply.”

“Jennings and his likes don’t care about anything but their bottom line. We could have accepted his refusal if he had not threatened to sell the inland freemen as slave until the last children” resumes Long John Silver. He rests his weight on the desk (Thomas wonders if this is a way to alleviate his leg or if it is a show of casual indifference). (Or perhaps it is a disguise to hide his agitation.)

“Governor Roger bought slaves to help with Nassau’s restoration. Unfortunately for him, he was deposited before he could honour the purchase. We liberated the men from the ship and offered them a place to stay among us” clarifies Jack. “It is not always a popular decision, especially now that the men have very little means of distraction.”

“I will not allow Nassau to abide to slavery, never again.” states Long John Silver; “And I’m not reopening the whore house” it sounds like tired argument between them.

“I’m all for the free men and women of Nassau” pacifies Jack. “I’m just pointing out we don’t have the luxury of such declaration; we simply do not have the latitude.”

Thomas can feel the mood of the room shift delicately from tense to weariness.

“It is because of this luxury that we’ve been able to keep the delicate balance so far” explains Long John Silver. “You believe them so stupid, to be led by like children. Nassau isn’t an island of pirates, not anymore. It is a place of ideals. We fought, we bled for them, and we willed them to be true. If we back down now there will only be chaos.”

James catches Thomas fingers and holds on, clamps on him almost painfully. It is so strange to hear such a familiar argument in such a foreign mouth. 

“Either all life is sacred or none is” murmurs Thomas.

Long John Silver finally looks at him, Thomas is not sure he can hold such intensity.

“Jennings is one of the many challengers that will come to you. Most of the men are ruined and depending on our charity, which means their pride is a sensitive affair.” Jack is still arguing but Thomas can see him falters. “What is your plan to keep them in line?”

Long John Silver’s look turns inward.

“I don’t know yet” he admits.


	4. What could have been but is not Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not a sneak peek  
> It's a maybe in becoming, and an almost that could have been.
> 
> I present you Not Chapter 27 (in waiting for the actual, and I think better chapter 27)

“You look awful.”

Thomas looks up from his unappetizing breakfast and sees Silver, hair in disarray, barely dressed and obviously in pain, barely standing on the threshold of the kitchen. 

“You look even worse” he jests, returning his attention to his gruel. The nausea is not entirely gone yet but he can finally keep his eyes open with being blinded by the light and the sounds around him. Silver sits at the table and piles food on his plate. 

“Heard you payed a visit to La Bouche and solved Rackham’s problem?”

Silver’s manners are terrible, even after ten years living as a slave Thomas still hear his father’s voice telling him to keep his back straight and not to dishonor him. Silver looks like a man who’s starved his entire life. It is intriguing, since Thomas rarely sees him during meal time and more than once heard James scowling about Silver’s lack of eating. 

“Are you going to shout at me too?” he feigns disinterest but he knows very little about this man who shares his love for James. 

Silver seems completely taken by surprise by his question. “Flint shouted at you?” he asks incredulously.

“No but he has other way of showing his disappointment” mulls Thomas. It’s ridiculous in his opinion. James had wanted him to participate to the debate between the different Captains so he could figure out the solution to their problems and when Thomas decided to take actions into his own hand and solve it for him too, James had been furious. 

(Well, it would have probably helped if Thomas hadn’t fainted like a maiden on his way back to the Mansion.)

“Does he?” Thomas asks curiously. “Yell at you, I mean.”

“Sometimes” answers Silver matter of fact. He gulps down a fruit Thomas cannot name and chews absent mindedly. “It’s been a while since he last did. Probably the man of war. Or maybe the brothel.”

One day he will ask them to tell him the whole story of their meeting, when he won’t ponder on his breakfast like it is the last thing he wants to eat on earth. 

“You could use more honey” comments Silver. 

“I have no taste for sweets” lies Thomas. He is partial to honey like any proper Englishman, he just can’t stomach anything too heavy yet. (Or nothing at all he suspects; if he could just look at the food without feeling ill, this day would start splendidly.)

A bitter feeling of helplessness fills him; he doesn’t want to be so… weak, but his body is betraying him (first two night ago, when it just shut down; now because it refuses to take care of itself).

He needs a distraction from the heavy feeling in his throat threatening to overwhelm him. 

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure”

“Why did you leave the Council Management to Captain Rackham?”

Silver doesn’t stop stuffing his face with bread and butter; he doesn’t even stop to think about his answer.

“Because he is god damn good at it.”

Thomas considers him carefully.

“You are the King” he says like it obvious means something.

“So what?”

The genuine curiosity on Silver’s face takes Thomas aback. 

“Most Kings don’t appreciate being outshined.”

Silver winces and gulps another toast.

“Most Kings are stupid then” he says between two bites. “It’s not like I asked for the name anyway.”

Thomas surprises must show on his face; Silver washes his mouth with milk and takes a pensive attitude. “When I first started my career as a pirate I knew next to nothing about ships, or sailing for that matter. I did my fair share of fighting, I conned people both at land and at sea, I was… I think the most elegant way to phrase it is, I was a man in search for an opportunity.”

Thomas doesn’t need to be explained what kind of scoundrel life a man like Silver has been through. He can picture it in his mind 

“Then, I became the Quartermaster of this huge ship, against my better judgement I assure you and incidentally without being consulted first. Suddenly I was expected to know all this stuff, I was expected to have an opinion on wind and sails and treasure hunting and the fucking value of silk. I learnt of course, there was no choice but to. Do you know the most valuable lesson I learnt?

Thomas motions him to keep talking. He has never properly sailed anywhere in his life (could not navigate a ship if his life depended on it.) He has no doubt there is plenty of lessons Silver must have retains, he also have no idea what is the most valuable.

“There is plenty of people who are not me who knows exactly what they are doing. We had a damn good navigator; no matter how long I looked at the maps I didn’t understand how he could watch them and then decided on a course. So I made sure he was in the best disposition to exploit that skill. Jack Rackham might be a jackass but he has ruled on this island for months, he has sailed among these seamen for a decade, he brought them prosperity and more gold that they ever dreamed on. He is capable of stepping up when no one will, and stepping down when needed. He has a fine understanding of the crew’s politics and he has Max’s support which is no small feat.”

To not be continued


End file.
